Air
by Crystal Kira
Summary: "Happy birthday," he whispered to himself, knowing no one else would say it for him. Was that sad?


**A/N: The next part of my Insight series, following "A Little Bit" and "I Hear America Singing."**

**/**

He envied the air.

Was that sad?

Canada entered the meeting room once again, polar bear in his arms, and greeted his former caretakers, France and England.

_They were too busy arguing to notice me_, he convinced himself. The situation _wasn't_ that even his own father figures had failed to notice him. Surely, it wasn't!

He tried to ignore the fact they'd constantly ask him, "Who are you?"

With a small, timid smile, he brushed past them (also unnoticed) and slipped into his seat. Matthew Williams quietly observed the usual pre-meeting chaos of the room, and then looked down to his bear.

"I hope I'll get a chance to speak today!" he said, feigning hope for his beloved pet.

"Who?" It looked up at him in reply. Matthew's lips trembled for a moment, before plastering the little smile on his once more.

"I'm Canada," he sighed, gently petting the furry animal.

He found that his bursts of hope were very-short lived, whether they were feigned or not.

Was that sad?

It wasn't long until his brother bounded into the room next, announcing his presence loudly and waving his arms around in excitement over his awesome new idea (which, undoubtedly, would probably be useless).

"Hi, Al," Canada greeted with a little smile. His brother paused, and Canada's heart swelled in hope.

_He noticed me_.

He deflated as soon as his brother opened his mouth with a quizzical look on his face.

"Who are you?"

Canada only smiled that little smile and sighed, "I'm Canada. Your brother."

A few moments later and Alfred sprung to recognition. "Oh, hey! Mattie! How are you?"

His own brother couldn't remember him.

Was it sad?

Alfred quickly left to go resume bantering with Arthur, and Canada was left once again to observe the room.

He greeted nations as they walked in, but not a single one turned their head or made any indication of having noticed him.

Oh, Russia was heading towards him. Maybe he wanted to talk?

… He must be really desperate if a conversation with Ivan was actually something to look forward to.

To his despair, Russia took no notice of him and seated himself- right on top of Canada.

Matthew cried out and tried to push Ivan off of him, and tried to get his attention by struggling and speaking up as much as he could, but he was never acknowledged. Ivan took no notice.

"This chair is really comfortable!" Russia said with the usual child-like smile on his face and a small giggle.

The rest of the meeting was spent trapped and being squashed, and it was not the first time. Matthew morosely thought that it probably wouldn't be the last.

When Russia finally (mercifully) left, Canada scrambled out of his seat and gasped for air, and then stretched out his aching, stressed out body.

Kumajirou had somehow escaped the Russia situation and was sitting next to him, looking up expectantly.

"Hungry," he stated.

"I guess we should get you fed, huh, Kuma?" Matthew said with a small smile, scratching the bear behind the ears. The bear made a small sound of contentment, and said nothing, which relieved Matthew much more than it should.

He walked away from the emptying meeting room, holding the polar bear in his arms as usual, and spotted his good friend, Cuba. Feeling hopeful, Canada walked over to him with a smile.

"Hey, Cuba!" he greeted cheerfully, happy to see his friend.

Not-so-unexpectedly, Cuba mistook him for his brother. Again. Only after ignoring him the first few times, of course.

He fled, sporting a new bump on his head, and wondering why he was so forgettable.

The drive home was uneventful, save for Kumajirou's repeated questioning of who he was.

_Who are you?_

It was all he ever heard anymore.

Was it sad?

Clutching the steering wheel, he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, before remembering that he needed his eyes open to drive.

He made it back to the hotel he was staying at for the conference, and entered, unnoticed by the staff.

He accidentally bumped into another man passing through the entrance.

"Sorry," Matthew apologized, but the man took no heed and kept moving along.

"Wonder what I bumped into?" he heard the man mumble while rubbing his arm.

Canada sighed for the nth time that day, and made his way to his suite, deciding to trudge up the stairs. It was less likely he'd find someone to ignore him that way.

Upon making it back, he promptly set to feeding Kumajirou in the kitchen, spooning out the fish that his pet liked, even though he asked once again who he was. Feeling very tired, despite the lack of actual physical exertion, he then changed into pajamas in an attempt to get more comfortable. He retired to his bedroom, fell back onto his bed, and covered his eyes with his forearm.

It was already dark outside and inside as well, so this made no real difference in his vision.

Just dark.

Nothing in his room but himself and air.

"Happy birthday," he whispered to himself, knowing no one else would say it for him.

Was that sad?

Tears trickled down the edges of his face.

It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

What had he ever done to deserve such a fate?

His own bosses and government even forgot him sometimes.

Was he really so… insignificant?

So meaningless?

So… worthless?

_Worth less than air, even?_

He envied the air.

While it wasn't seen, it was acknowledged as being there.

He was neither seen, nor acknowledged. Not one bit.

He was so forgettable, that even his family forgot him, even his friends mixed him up with his polar-opposite brother, even his own pet polar bear, who'd been with him for as long as he could remember, couldn't hang on to the memory of him.

He envied the air.

Was that sad?

/

**A/N: And so finished the third installment of the Insight series.**

**Who next? Either one of the Italy brothers, or maybe Greece.**

**Reviews and feedback are appreciated.**

**Thanks for reading!**


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